The Wong Blog

Like passing a stone…

(3) The Crumpler Customary Barge: I got this backpack a few years ago because it could carry both a laptop and a DSLR camera body with multiple lenses and a flash unit, yet didn’t scream, “CAMERA BAG:  STEAL ME.”

Crumpler is the company.  “Customary Barge” is the backpack model’s name.  That’s right.  When I wanted a bag that could protect my electronic equipment, I turned to a company with the word “crumple” in its name—cuz that’s how I roll.

I have no idea what “Customary Barge” means or what it has to do with laptops or digital cameras.  Apparently, riverboat captains are running Crumpler’s marketing department.  Badly.  “Customary Barge”?  I half expected El DeBarge to show up and carry my stuff.  I think he would have cost about the same, too…

Below is the totally coherent and “sensical” description of the Customary Barge backpack from Crumpler’s own website.  It takes the form of a soliloquy delivered by a fedora-wearing rodent in a pinstriped suit (no, seriously):

This hayer [sic] is yar [sic] customerry [sic] bardge [sic].  It’s grayte [sic] fur [sic] toynen [sic] up all karnds [sic] of jarnk [sic] you marnt [sic] farnd [sic] on the bartem [sic] of the reever [sic].  Whartder [sic] yoo [sic] main [sic] let’s nart [sic] seal [sic] too close to that reever [sic] bank?  Don’t aye [sic] know yoo [sic] frahm [sic] sarmwhere [sic]?  Whatchoo [sic] gunna [sic] harnt [sic] wid [sic] that there knarfe [sic], boy?

Go to their website and see fur yooself.  Crumpler is an Australian company if that explains anything. (They’re descended from convicts, you know…)

Interestingly, I had never used my Customary Barge to lug both a laptop AND an SLR camera system with me on any trip until China.  In fact, I’m not sure I’ve even used it at all.  Romantic notions of moseying down into, say, the Yosemite Valley by wagon train with both my laptop and photo gear in my Customary Barge in order to capture the iconic image of El Capitan like Ansel “Abigail” Adams (except with a Canon EOS 1DS Mark III) always gave way to packing lightly—which usually meant forgoing the laptop and toting my Tri-Zip along with a small Canon Powershot.  Either that or fashioning a pin-hole camera out of a squirrel’s skull…

But the extended duration of my China trip finally allowed me to use the Customary Barge for the reason I bought it:  to hold and transport my laptop and DSLR camera.  I also managed to toss in netbooks, portable hard drives, batteries, chargers, ipods, headphones, wires, power cords, etc.   Owing to the Barge’s shape—tortoise-like—things got a little tight.  But everything made it over okay.  I haven’t used the Barge since.

Bottomline:  well-made and pretty comfortable, with nice padded straps, but it’s a bit bulky for everyday use.

Note: the Customary Barge comes with a padded detachable container/organizer for SLR camera system components, but I didn’t like the configuration, so I yanked it out and used something else to organize my stuff (one of those insulated soft lunch pails).

More on the luggage I brought with me to China.  Exciting…

(2) The Tough Traveler Tri-Zip Carry-On Bag. A very controversial choice.  I waffled over bringing this bag with me because, on the one hand, I wanted to keep luggage to a minimum, but on the other hand I thought it would come in handy for weekend trips to wherever—Hangzhou, Shanghai, Dalian, Qingdao, Hong Kong, etc.  The Load Warrior would be overkill for such trips, whereas the compact Tri-Zip would be ideal.  For whatever reason, I didn’t really think about adapting one of my backpacks into a weekender…or even buying a carry-on bag here in China.

Perhaps I was worried about the general craftsmanship of Chinese luggage (melamine!), or couldn’t see the point of spending money on another carry-on when I had a perfectly good one in the Tri-Zip.  Sure, I would have to lug it across the ocean with me with some inconvenience, but I’m cheap and the Tri-Zip certainly was not.  No, sirree.  It cost $225, the result of being made in the USA with superior materials, craftsmanship, and covert imperialistic intentions.

So as far as a carry-on bag,  it would be the Tri-Zip or nothing.

I bought the Tri-Zip a few years ago for business trips.  I wasn’t totally enamored with the three-compartment design because I was used to carry-ons with one large main compartment, but the Tri-Zip’s protected middle compartment was ideal for storing laptops.  Thus, I could carry all the clothes and crap that I needed on a business trip in one bag.  Another key for me (for whatever reason) was the bag could be converted into a backpack if needed.

Over the years, the Tri-Zip has grown on me, and it was my go-to bag during my one-week scouting trip to Harbin last year.  So it’s been China-tested and functioned fine.

I ended up taking the Tri-Zip with me this time because I couldn’t fit everything that I thought I needed into the Load Warrior.  Basically, it served as a supplementary bag for overflow items.  I stuffed the Tri-Zip full of clothing, checked it in at the airport, and it made it over to China in one piece.  Yay.  As a piece of check-in luggage, it was a complete success, but we’ll see if it comes in handy as a carry-on for weekend travel.  In any case, I’m glad I have it with me.

Note:  I replaced the Tri-Zip’s original shoulder strap with a JanSport Airlift strap.  More comfortable, better grip.

Next time:  (3) the Crumpler Customary Barge backpack; and  (4) the Rick Steves Civita Day Pack.

So I thought I’d start a series of posts listing some of the stuff I’ve brought with me to China, and comment on how useful or useless particular items have been to me during my brief time here.  Perhaps this, in turn, will prove useful to any folks who may be going to the PRC in the near future; they can look it over and figure out whether they really need certain things or not.  (Probably not.)

Bear in mind some particulars of my situation.  First, I was traveling to Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in late February 2009, i.e. the tail-end of winter in Sub-Siberia.  I was anticipating that, upon my arrival in Har-Har, the City of Frozen Chuckles, temperatures would be fluctuating between highs in the teens and 20s (Fahrenheit) and lows around the temperature in my freezer back home, i.e. zero degrees.  Snow and ice were going to be a reality.  Fortunately, I did most of my shopping in January and early February 2009, which coincided with some good winter clearance sales in America, as well as the deepening of the Great Recession.  Because of the Recession, solvent retailers were really trying to move merch, and bankrupt retailers were liquidating their inventories at some crazy prices.

Second, I had a layover in Beijing, where I would have to claim any bags I had checked in, possibly traipse them (along with any carry-on baggage) over to the domestic airline terminal and/or counter by myself, and then re-check them in for the flight to Harbin.  Basically, there was a strong incentive to pack lightly (which is generally a good idea anyway).

Third, once I arrived in Harbin, that would be where I would settle in and make my base camp for the next six months, at least (hopefully).  Har-Har is a large city of about 4.5 million (10 million including the surrounding areas), with Walmarts, Carrefours, McDonald’s, KFCs, etc.  In May 2008, I had been there to visit The Hong, my contact on the ground, and to scope things out, so I had a general idea of what I could easily purchase in town (most toiletries, female Chinese babies, bear paw) and what I could not (quality deodorant).

Fourth, I’m a guy, so when I pack, I tend to be electronics heavy, but make-up light.  I’m also relatively free of prescription medications, so I don’t need to lug around asthma inhalers, insulin, or epi-pens for allergy-related anaphylactic shock.  Yet.

For the first couple of posts, let’s focus on the containers I used to bring everything over.  There were four main bags:  (1) the Eagle Creek Load Warrior LT 30 wheeled duffel bag; (2) the Tough Traveler Tri-Zip carry-on bag; (3) the Crumpler Customary Barge backpack; and (4) the Rick Steves Civita Day Pack.  Let’s take ‘em one by one…

(1)  Eagle Creek Load Warrior LT 30 Wheeled Duffel Bag. Since I was going to be in northern China for at least six months, I didn’t think I could stuff everything I needed for that period into a carry-on, which is the preference of Packing Nazis and the mentally insane.  I was bringing some winter gear, like a heavy jacket and boots, so I wanted a big bag into which I could throw that stuff, along with my regular clothes.  Hence, a large duffel.

(The LT 30 is 6100 cu. in., which I though was sufficiently big, though there are bigger bags out there if size is a concern for you.  Size has never been a concern for me.  Never.  I am quite confident in the size of my bag(s)…)

The wheels were a must in order to stay mobile while making my connection in Bejing, and when finally on the ground in Harbin, traveling from the airport to The Hong’s bunker.

Those were my two main criteria:  size and mobility.  Secondarily, I wanted a bag that bore the name of an NFL football player (preferably a San Diego Chargers running back), and a bag which could wage total and unconditional warfare against “loads.”  Hence, the EC Load Warrior LT 30, which is extremely light (9 lbs.) and had garnered some good reviews over at ebags.com.

The kicker that really put this bag over the top for me was price.  My local REI store was selling the LT 30 at a clearance price of $80 when the MSRP was $225.  Alarming!  The LAPD couldn’t beat that volume-to-price ratio with a baton.  I probably should have bought out REI’s stock of Load Warriors and flipped them.  Oh well.

As for the bag’s performance, so far it has been fine.  It made it to Harbin in one piece, and performed well enough as I dragged it around the slushy cobblestones of the city.  The only problem is when I dragged that thing off of a high sidewalk or step.  Like the real L.T., the bag has a tendency to spin.  I’m not sure whether it’s because the bag isn’t wide enough or I didn’t distribute the weight of its contents evenly.  Aside from that, it’s fulfilled its function of getting most of my stuff to Asia.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite big enough to bring everything I wanted, so I had to supplement it with (2) the Tough Traveler Tri-Zip, which I will cover next time…

BTW, I highly recommend a trip to REI to browse their travel supplies and winter gear.  Lots of neat little items that may or may not be useful in China.  And if you intend to return to the States in the near term and buy lots and lots of camping gear, it might be worth it to become a member of the REI co-op for a yearly fee.  Apparently, you get a rebate on merchandise you buy during the year in the form of an annual dividend.